A section of NSW land could soon be handed over to the ACT.

A section of NSW land could soon be handed over to the ACT.

The soon-to-be annexed section of NSW is more or less only accessible from the ACT,Barr pointed out. He said if the geographical landmarks had been taken into consideration when carving the territory into existence last century,the land would most likely already be part of the ACT.

“It’s really a historical quirk that a straight line was drawn through a paddock rather than following the river corridor,” Barr said. “I view it as just correcting a historical anomaly. It’s an incredibly small piece of land.”

The chief minister said the region had been the subject of “engagement” with NSW for about five years,and would result in a massive boost to ACT housing stock.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“The premier has given the verbal go ahead,has contacted me and said ‘this should happen’,and we’ve got in-principle agreement;it’s now just about details,” he said. “I’m pleased it’s now got the formal tick of approval from the premier directly to me,so I take him absolutely at his word.”

A NSW government spokesman said the state was committed to supporting a “commonsense approach” to the delivery of key services and infrastructure for future residents of the cross-border development.

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“To this end,the NSW premier has approved discussions to take place with the ACT government on a potential border move at Parkwood,with no decision made,” the spokesman said.

Yass Valley Council Deputy Mayor Jasmin Jones said if the development went ahead without the NSW and ACT governments addressing the border situation,her local council would face a massive increase in residents requiring services.

An artist’s impression of the future Parkwood development.

An artist’s impression of the future Parkwood development.

“It would be sensible for all levels of government to sit down and discuss moving the border because delivering services such as health,education and even garbage collection would be complex,” she said.

“There’s a line on paper,it can be easily moved,but[it’s difficult] delivering services when there’s no infrastructure.”

Jones suggested the council could be compensated for losing the section of land.

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“It would make far greater sense to compensate NSW and the Yass Valley with the loss of taxes and rate base in perpetuity with infrastructure,” she said.

Barr said NSW and the ACT needed to work through a formal process that would require amendments to legislation. He said the housing development would not reach the NSW border for another decade.

“The ACT government has provided advice on this issue to officials in the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet,” Barr said.

He said ACT officials would most likely meet their NSW counterparts next month to work out a joint approach to the plan.

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